Rio: Rise of the Freedom Flyers
by SpiketheEchidna
Summary: a mysterious group of bird bird nappers come to Rio, bringing a whole new cast of heroes to help Blu and friends. as always, All Rio characters belong to Blue Sky except for my own made up characters
1. Chapter 1

**Rio: Rise of the Freedom Flyers**

**I know, another fanfic already? What can I say, I have an active imagination. Anyway, this story starts in the POV of my very first OC! There is also going to be chapters in the POV of Blu and Jewel since the story kind of revolves mainly around these three. Read and review!**

**Ch. 1: Introductions**

(Somewhere in Colombia, South America)

What do you think when you see me? I could be just like any other macaw, a Hyacinth macaw to be precise, flying in the skies, the names Manuel by the way. I could be living a carefree life just like any other bird you see, flying freely, nothing to keep me down, nothing to make me worry, but no, I don't get that luxury. You might be wondering what I mean when I say that, well, it's not a very pretty story so I'll keep it brief, I'm and orphan, been that way all my life, now I fly around with my uncle, Ricardo. That may not seem very strange to you, but I didn't mention that he is the leader of the most rag-tag team of bird liberators ever to take to the skies. Yeah, I know what you're thinking, 'bird liberators? What's that?' well, we rescue birds from smugglers, but not just the human ones either, because that would be too simple, we've been fighting against the same, and still most ruthless team of animal smugglers known as 'The Iron Talons'. These guys are nasty old birds who kidnap other innocent birds to give to their human allies, the reason to do so? Heck if I know, all I do is fight the guys, not figure out their past, I've got my own to worry about. I guess you're curious about just who these birds are, so I'll tell you. First off, we have Vincent, a Scarlet macaw, this guy as a nasty habit of growing out his talons and then sharpening them until a single swipe at you could be your last. Next we have Enrique, a big condor with a very short temper, I swear, you could look at the guy cross eyed and he'd go off, his temper shouldn't be taken lightly though, this guy can pack some pretty serious hits. Then there is Raymond, one of the fastest flyers in the world, a Peregrine falcon, with quick speed, quick wits, but always likes to give his enemies a very slow death. There is also Stefano, a Blue Throated macaw, if you thought Bubonic plague was the silent killer, you've never met him, watch your back, because the last thing you will ever see is his shadow. Lastly, but definitely not least, we have Sergio, a Harpy eagle, and the leader of the Iron Talons. He's probably the meanest bird you'll ever meet, he isn't afraid to get a little blood on his feathers, in fact, think he enjoys it, creepy I know. This guy was the cause of my orphaned state, and I swore to my dying parents, that I would never rest until I stopped this guy's heartbeat with my own talons. Well, enough about the bad guys huh? Yeah that's right, time to talk about the cool guys who are fighting the good fight. Well, to start things off, my uncle Ricardo, the leader of our group and probably the bravest bird I'll ever meet. He is a Hyacinth macaw like me, and has a little scar over his right eye caused by Sergio a long time ago. Also like me, and all other Hyacinth macaws, he is a very vibrant blue color with yellow eyes and a very long beak. Next we have his second in command, Gabriella, a ruby throated hummingbird. She is our fastest flyer and the best on quick recon ops, she is the only one I've ever seen outfly Raymond. Then there is Boris, a Russian albatross. What he lacks in brains and speed, he makes up in brute force, making him our heavy hitter. How he got here? Same way as a friend of his, but we'll get to him later, apparently they decided to snooze in a large commercial vessel right when it was just about to leave port. When they woke up, they had no idea which way was home, so instead stayed with the ship, eventually dropping them off here in South America, where they were befriended by my uncle. Speaking of Boris' friend, he isn't really a bird, he's a Transylvanian vampire bat, and ironic I know. He is our night recon specialist, using his echolocation to maneuver through completely dark places as easily as if it were day. Then, there's me, you already know a little about me, about as much as I let people know about me, but there's one more detail. Just as me and my uncle share a lot of the same features, I too have a scar caused by Sergio. The only difference is my uncle's scar is small and neat, making him seem heroic and mysterious, whereas mine, a large jagged cut across the left side of my beak, makes me seem rough and mean, making most birds shy away from me. As nature causes others to judge me by what I look like, I've learned to push others away, save for my team since I'd trust them with my life, but I never made any other friends or other… certain… connections with anybody else. All I ever really wanted was a permanent place to call home, with others that I can consider family, will that ever happen? I'm not sure, so I guess for the while, I'm stuck with this bunch, not that I'm complaining…


	2. Chapter 2

**Ch. 2: Relocation**

The morning started just like any other, my uncle waking me up way too early to go on morning patrol, grabbing some quick on the go food (grapes), and then spending the whole morning flying around the rainforest looking for signs of trouble. Even though I didn't like the idea of being an early riser, I still looked forward to going on patrol, just to fly in the cool quiet of the mornings. The fog that hadn't quite lifted was intertwined with the trees. I always thought that looked cool. I also take the quiet to kind of reflect on myself, all of the past events that had happened. Strangely, it's been very quiet the last couple of days, making me worry. Apparently my worry was noticeable because my uncle talked to me, snapping me back to reality, "What's the problem squirt?" he asked playfully. I shot him a fake annoyed look and replied, "First off, you shouldn't call me squirt considering I'm taller than you, at least by a good couple of inches. Second… *sigh*… it's just been too quiet lately, what do you think the Iron Talons could be up to?". This seemed to worry my uncle too, I could tell because he didn't answer right away, and he only does that when he's nervous or worried. "I honestly don't know buddy, that's one of the reasons I took us out here, maybe we could figure out what's going on." "_And maybe we'll come across a certain harpy eagle too" _I thought. We flew for a few more hours, not seeing anything wrong, before heading back to base, a rather large tree with multiple hollows to serve as our individual rooms. "Hey get the crew up and at 'em, I want them at the briefing perch in ten minutes". I nodded and headed out to the other hollows, starting with the lowest one that belonged to Boris. It's always funny to see Boris asleep, because he doesn't have the normal position of a sleeping bird, instead he lay flat on his back with his webbed feet up in the air and his wings sprawled out. His beak hung open, allowing a monstrous snore escape from it. Immediately I closed his beak with my talons, and slightly shook it saying, "Yo, hey Boris wake up, we gotta be at the briefing perch in ten minutes…. WAKE UP!" I finally yelled since the gentle approach didn't work. Boris' eyes shot open and he sat up, obviously dazed from being woken so roughly, "в чем проблема!" he shouted in Russian, making me burst out in laughter. He turned around and looked at me, his shocked look turning to that of slight annoyance and humor. "You know, my leetle friend, it is never wise to wake a sleeping Russian, it could be the last time you do" he said with a thick Russian accent. "y-yeah I'll take my chances" I stuttered, still holding back more laughter, "Briefing perch, ten minutes" "Dah" replied Boris and got up to stretch, his large body eventually forcing me to leave the hollow. Next I went to the only mammal in our group, Victor. He didn't sleep in a hollow, but slept upside-down on a small branch (Go figure). I tried to sneak close to him to startle him like I did his Russian friend, but right as I breathed in to shout him awake, he held out a leathery wing to keep my beak shut, ultimately taking the fun out of my joke. "Don't even try it Manuel" he said, his Transylvanian accent very present. I simply just shrugged and turned around to leave, "I'll get you one day" I said, "That I'd have to see to believe" replied Victor smugly. Rolling my eyes I relayed the message I told Boris and took off to the highest hollow, where the last member of our group was already up and preening. "Morning Gabriella" I said warmly, the Ruby throated hummingbird looked up at me, her bright eyes seemed to radiate good will, "Well good morning to you too mejo" she said, her happy Latina voice leaving her beak like a song. "_How she always stays so upbeat and happy, I'll never know" _I thought to myself. "Briefing perch, uncle Ricardo wants everyone there in ten minutes", "Ok" she said brightly, "is it about the Iron Talon's absence lately?" it seemed me and uncle Ricardo weren't the only ones to notice. I nodded and went to the briefing perch to wait for the others, taking the time to preen as I saw that I was in great need of it. Shortly after my arrival, Boris bolstered up to the perch, it took my best to not laugh at the albatross, but it was so hard when he tried to maneuver through small spaces with his large frame. He finally managed to find a comfortable spot and slumped down. Victor followed, standing next to Boris, his long wings wrapped around his body like a human's cloak, he was wearing his small tinted spectacles, which he only wore during the day because of his sensitive eyes. Finally, Ricardo fluttered in with Gabriella close behind, obviously finished with some kind of conversation. "Mornin' everyone, I hope you all slept well? Good, as you all may have noticed, there hasn't been anything heard from the Iron Talon's for the last four days, this is unusual of them to stay quiet for so long, so we need a small recon team to try to gain Intel on anything they might be planning. Gabriella has already volunteered, but we need someone else for back-up in case things get out of hand. I immediately perked up and said, "I'll do it!". My uncle looked like he was about to refuse, but a quick bump and glance from Gabriella seemed to change his mind. "*Sigh* fine Manuel, but remember, this is recon, do **not **engage with any enemy you see. This is simply gain info and return in as little time as possible. Understood?" he looked at me sternly. I slowly nodded and started to follow Gabriella, "_Why is he so protective? Doesn't he know that I'm sixteen? I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself. I guess it's just cause I'm the only family he has left". _I shook away my thoughts as I took off, getting ready for the upcoming mission. The flight was quiet, as it was normally on a recon mission, and I didn't mind it at all, I suddenly didn't feel like talking right now. We got close to the Iron Talon's base, which was no more than a rundown shack where the humans kept their smuggled birds prisoner. Luckily no calls for help sounded from the building, so there hasn't been much activity here lately. We landed in a grown over area as quietly as possible, just in case they were still here, but no birds on guard, no humans ambling around the building, just quiet. This quiet made me uncomfortable, I didn't like intense quiet, the tension I felt could be cut with a frickin' knife. We came closer to the building, glancing side to side to make sure it wasn't a trap, then swiftly entered through a small hole broken at the base of the door. "That's weird" said Gabriella, ending the silence, "nobody's here. Where is everyone?" I shrugged, "Maybe they relocated? Gave up on this place and went to find another?". Gabriella thought this over, "Well, if you're right, we better find something that could tell us where they went, start looking around" at that she took off to the other side of the room. I sighed and began to walk around, looking for some kind of clue. The whole building seemed to be emptied, save for a small desk near a broken window. I looked up and saw the corner of a paper hanging off. I flew up to the top of the desk and saw it was a map of all of South America. I looked around the map for a while until my eyes fell upon a circled city in Brazil. "Hey Gabriella, check this out" I called out. She zipped up to where I stood and I pointed with my foot to the circled city. She looked at the city and immediately smiled widely. I rolled my eyes, for certain what this meant, then she said, "OOOH… I've always wanted to visit Rio"….

**Well that's the end of chapter two. What do you guys think of the group (Manuel mainly)? Anyway review my chapter and the next chapter will be in the POV of our favorite Spix's Macaw Tyler Blu Gunderson!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ch. 3: Paradise threatened**

"Ahhh, another wonderful day" I said as I breathed in the cool morning air of Rio de Janeiro. A fresh breeze blew close to my hollow and I fluffed up my feathers to accept the refreshing tingle before taking off into the lush rain forest to find some breakfast. I took this time to see how blessed I really was to be living this life. If you had told me six months ago that I would be living in a beautiful rainforest, flying with the most beautiful bird in the world, I would have laughed in your face, I would have thought that I, Blu, a flightless Spix's macaw would have done any of those things, yet here I am, and I'm loving every minute of it. My thoughts then drifted to my beautiful mate, Jewel… my one true treasure that I would cherish and protect forever. The first time we met, I was instantly entrance by her. But it wasn't just her looks that I fell in love with, but her whole being. She was smart, strong, but most of all, independent. Her independence is what I truly fell in love with, because it lets me know that she didn't have to choose me, but she did anyway. I smiled and swooped down to a large fruit tree that I saw had many perfectly ripened mangoes that looked quite appetizing, and picked the two plumpest I could find. I then found some nuts and a few other berries, wrapped everything in a large leaf, and headed back to Jewel. She was just rising out of her slumber when I flew in, slightly disappointing me. "Aww man" I said, "I wanted to make this a surprise for you", I then opened the leaf, revealing the… um… fruits of my labor. She smiled at me, oh that smile, walked up to me and said, "Well I still appreciate all this Blu, sometimes I think I don't even deserve someone like you". I didn't catch her sarcastic tone, and immediately, I started to get worried, "Now, d-don't say that Jewel, you deserve the best and that's what I try to d-" my sentence was cut short as her beak met mine, surprising me at first, but soon I returned the embrace with sparks flying in my mind. We pulled away and at the same time my stomach growled loudly, embarrassing me and causing Jewel to suppress a laugh, "Come on charmer" said Jewel, "let's eat". Breakfast was delicious, the fruits were in perfect season, and now we were heading to town to meet up with our friends at Pássaro Paraíso (Bird Paradise), the club where we had shared our first dance. As we approached the club, we could make out the colors of our four friends Nico, Pedro, Raphael, and Eva. "Well if it isn't the true blue lovebirds! What up guys" said our canary friend Nico happily, "yeah!" said Pedro, a red crested cardinal, "you two need to see us a little more often, so we can please your smaba souls with our newest beats!". I chuckled at Pedro's remark then Raphael, my toucan friend said, "Aww come on Pedro, cut them some slack, they've been busy enjoying eachother's company, letting their love blossom even more, how could you keep them from that?". "Oh Raphy" said Eva lovingly eyeng her mate, "you were always the best to talk of romance". Jewel looked at Eva and asked, "So how did you get to leave without the kids? Really carefully I'm guessing?", Eva laughed and replied, "Oh a young scarlet macaw is babysitting, I swear she has no idea what she's gotten herself into", at that Jewel and Eva giggled together. "Well are we just gonna stay out here and talk? Or go in there and party?" I asked enthusiastically. "That's what I'm sayin Blu Boy!" cheered Pedro and flew into the club with us following. "Blu, Jewel, you've gotta hear our new song, it's our best work of art by far!" said Nico happily as i replied, "Well waste no more time and play it!". He flew off toward the stage where Pedro was already waiting and began relaying instructions to a green parakeet who served as the DJ. The music soon began, pulling me and Jewel into its spell as it played...

OOOOOHHHHH ayyyeeahhhh, obah obah obah (repeat)

(PEDRO)

mas que nada  
>now we all came in to make it hotter<br>we beat the party starters  
>bubblin up just like lava<br>like lava heat it like a sauna  
>penetrating into your body armor<br>rhythmically we message ya  
>with hip hop mixed up with samba<br>with samba so yes yes yall  
>you know we never stop<br>we never rest yall  
>cus we are all keeping it funky fressh yall<br>and we wont stop until we get you, til we get you sayin

Oaria raio  
>Oba Oba Oba<br>Oaria raio  
>Oba Oba Oba<br>(NICO)  
>peter piper picked peppers but Tab rocked ryhmes<br>1,2,3 for several times  
>heavy rotation made by every kind<br>of radio stations blessing every mind  
>and we crossing boundaries like everyday<p>

we got we got tab magnification tab magnafied  
>like every day<br>so yes yes yall  
>you know we never stop we never rest yall yall<br>cus now we are keepin it funky fressh yall  
>and we wont stop until we get you, til we get you sayin<p>

Oaria raio  
>Oba Oba Oba (la la la la la)<br>Oaria raio  
>Oba Oba Oba<br>(PEDRO)  
>drop hot hot be my daily operation<br>got to put a right in this crazy occupation  
>gotta keep it movin' thats the motivation<br>gotta ride the waves and keep a tight relation  
>with my team keeping moving and doing it right<br>i've been in a lab every day til daylight  
>thats the way things move in this monkey business<br>we took a old samba song and remixed it  
>(FEMALE SINGER)<br>Mas que nada  
>Sai da minha frente<br>Eu quero passar  
>Pois o samba esta animado<br>O que eu quero e sambar  
>Este samba<br>Que e misto de maracatu  
>E samba de preto velho<br>Samba de preto tu

mas que nada, we gonna make you feel lil hotter  
>peas and Sergio Mendes heating up sambaaaa<br>badabababababaaaaaa  
>sergio play your piano sergio play your yo yo yo yo piano (echoing)<p>

check it out

Oaria raio  
>Oba Oba Oba (la la la la la)<br>Oaria raio  
>Oba Oba Oba (la la la la la)<p>

Oaria raio  
>Oba Oba Oba<p>

Este samba  
>Que e misto de maracatu<br>E samba de preto velho  
>Samba de preto tu (la la la la la)<p>

The song slowly ended and I looked at Jewel, slightly out of breath as I looked deep into her sapphire eyes, she giggled and playfully said, "Hehe, still got it", I smiled and agreed, "Yes, yes we do". We were pulling each other in for a kiss until we heard a desperate cry emanating from outside the club, "HEEEELP! PLEASE SOMEONE!". We immediately followed the sound of the cry until we came across a small finch. She was clearly terrified, her eyes were wide and had tears pouring out of it, upon further inspection, I saw claw fresh claw marks raked across her side, blood still dripping from them. As much as I wanted to puke my guts out at the sight of blood, I immediately went to her, calling out orders to nearby birds as my mind whirred with the knowledge of the many medical books I had read in the past, making me more than prepared. "Ok listen" I said to the finch, "I need you to calm down, and don't try to move too much, we don't know how much blood you lost. Hey you, yeah the crane, grab me a small cloth… I don't care where you get it just make sure it's clean!". I looked around as the crane went to find a rag, I glanced toward Jewel, she looked rather surprised at my sudden control of the situation, but her expression then turned to worry as the finch started to sob again. The crane finally returned with a rag, I inspected it thoroughly to make sure it was clean, satisfied, I carefully wrapped it around the finch's body, making sure to keep adequate pressure where it was needed most. "Now", I finally said, "tell me what happened". The finch took a shuddering breath as she began to recall her previous encounter. "I-I was w-with my friends, w-we were just h-hanging out by a mango tree a-and we saw this huge shadow above us. W-we looked up and saw this huge condor descending, h-he grabbed both of my friends and started to take off. I-I tried t-to get them back, but he slashed at my side and I flew away." I replayed this in my head. What was a condor doing here in South America? Aren't they native to the North? And what was he planning by kidnapping two small birds? "Now that's just messed up!" exclaimed Pedro, "That birdie needs to be taught a lesson", Nico looked at him and said, "And are you the one who's going to teach him?". Pedro's eyes suddenly widened in fear but tried to play it off by saying, "Well… uh that is… I mean, you guys will back me up right?". "Please" the finch told me, "you have to save them!". I sighed and looked around, the finch was right, something had to be done, but am I really the one to do it? Who says that I'm the one to be playing hero? I looked back at the desperate finch, then to Jewel, her eyes seemed to send a mental message, "_We have to help" _she seemed to say. I stood up and said to the finch, "I'll see what I can do, do you know where this condor took them? She thought a moment and said, "I don't know exactly, but he was heading north of the sanctuary last I saw before I came here". I turned away to take off, Jewel by my side, but before we took off a voice behind us said "I'm coming too mue amigo" I turned to see Raphael walk up to us, he turned to Eva, "head back to the hollow my love, and be careful", "you be careful" Eva replied softly, kissing him and taking off to the other direction. "You guys aint goin' nowhere widdout us!" I turned to see Pedro and Nico approach us, confidence shinning in their eyes. I smiled as I saw how lucky I was to have such loyal friends, "Alright guys" I said, "Let's fly" and at that, we all took off, facing what could be a threat to our paradise with nothing but our own confidence… I hope this ends well…

**What will become of our heroes as they meet this new threat? Will Manuel and the crew get to them to help in time? Will I ever stop asking ridiculous questions? Find out next time! Lol anyway the next chapter is in Manuel's POV again. Also if you are curious the song sung was from Sergio Mendes called Mas Que Nada featuring the Black eyed Peas.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Ch. 4: Rescue mission**

We've been flying for about five straight hours today, and finally the rainforest of Rio de Janeiro came into view. I heard Gabriella gasp in excitement, she was always one to love a new exotic place to explore, and this was no exception. I had to admit, this place had a pretty sweet layout, beach front, forest covered mountains, and a beautiful city in the center of it all. But still, I knew not to get really attached, most likely once the Iron talons get bored here, they will move on to another, making us have to leave again. I mean, it's not all that bad, I get to see new sights, meet new people, but I still wonder what it's like to stay in one place, to wake up and know you're home. I was shaken from my thoughts when I heard Boris talking to me, "So Manuel, thees ees a very beautiful place no? There must be many beautiful girls here, maybe you weel like staying here. What do you theenk?". I sighed , wishing I had his optimism, and replied, "Boris, you know we probably won't be staying here long, why would I make a relationship here if I knew it wouldn't work?". I looked at Boris, who now wore a look of concern, why did they care so frikin much? "You cannot be sure my young friend" said Victor, swooping close to where I was, "This may be where we stop these good for nothing smugglers and even settle down here?", "Well let me know when that day comes then" I said, a little more sternly than I meant to be. Boris and Victor gave up on cheering me up and went onto their own conversation. I looked ahead of me, hoping it would stay quiet until we found a place to crash for the night, but something below me caught my eye and I looked down. A small group of birds were heading in the opposite direction we were, seemingly in a hurry, there was a red crested cardinal, a canary… wearing a bottle cap?... and a toucan, but what really caught my eye were the other two with them, each a brilliant shade of blue. "_Hmmm" _I thought, "_Could those be more Hyacinths? I haven't seen many around lately". _I looked to my uncle and called out, "Uncle Ricardo! Look behind us, do you think those are hyacinths like us?" he looked where I did and replied, "Not sure, maybe I mean, they got the right color, maybe we'll find out later". I shrugged, but immediately focused my attention on Gabriella as she started to turn saying, " I think were gonna find out sooner than expected" I looked up where she was staring and immediately saw the darkened outline of a large bird, his large head pointing toward the direction of the small group of birds as he slowly gained on them. I focused harder on the bird, and as the sun shone on his side, the gray feathers made my heart sink and anger rise… "Sergio"…

**Blu's POV:**

We had been heading North for a while now, and I have to be honest I had no idea for what to look for. It would have been a lot easier if the finch had told us some kind of landmark to search for, anything that we could see easily. I didn't complain though, and neither did any of my friends, who were all looking intently around the jungle. As I looked, a quick flash caught the corner of my eyes, when I looked, I could see the shadow of a creature dart quickly through the forest vegetation, I swallowed a lump in my throat as I stuttered to my friends, "G-guys, I th-think we're being followed". My statement was soon proven, because as soon as I finished, something rammed under me with a huge 'WHUMP' and I felt a sharp pain in my abdomen as I started to plummet toward the ground. I could hear Jewel yell out my name just before I hit the trees, blocking my vision and adding new pain to what I had already felt, and somehow, my assailant managed to keep a vice grip, not letting go for anything. I landed on my back once we reached the forest floor, the mystery attacker holding me down. I took this chance to see just who exactly this bird was, I opened my eyes and saw it was a falcon, not native to these parts, slightly shorter than me, with very cold looking eyes. "Well" he said, "Wont you make a nice little edition to our little… collection", he chuckled and sent shivers down my spine, what did he mean collection? But before I could reply, I heard my battle cries from above and looked up to see Jewel, with Raphael, Nico and Pedro all flying toward the falcon. He nimbly jumped off me and easily dodged the attacks of my friends, a little bit of a bored expression on his face as if he had done this a million times over. I staggered to my feet, confused, "_this is a falcon" _I thought, "_but the finch said it was a condor that attacked her". _As if to answer my unasked question, I heard the loud beating of very large wings. I looked up and to my horror, saw a huge condor descending upon us, and before I could say anything, came down on Raphael, pinning the toucan with his weight and using a foot to hold his beak down. "RAPHY!" yelled Nico and Pedro together, flying toward their downed friend, but they were stopped short as a scarlet macaw came into view, holding his feet out that revealed wickedly long and sharp talons as he grabbed both of my small friends, causing them to shriek in fear. Jewel was the only one holding her own against the falcon, but then yet another bird descended, a blue throated macaw who seemed to come out of nowhere, and knocked Jewel to the ground, as he did, he spoke next to her ear, "Hmmm, I think I might want you around sexy, I could use a little entertainment". This remark filled me up with fury and I shot toward him shrieking, "NOBODY SAYS THAT TO MY JEWEL!" I ran at him, ready to strike until I felt a sharp pain in the back of my neck as a sudden weight caused me to fall face first into the dirt. I tried to look up but the foot kept me down, all I saw was a single gray feather fall in front of me. "Well well well" said a deep, malicious voice, "What a magnificent find, these specimens will go nicely with the collection". Again with the 'collection' what do they mean by that? "Take them away" he said again, and I felt him pull my body off the ground, I managed to see who the assailant was and to my horror, saw a towering harpy eagle, making my blood run cold. My hope dwindled more and more as I saw no way of escaping our fate, I closed my eyes, waiting for them to take off, until somewhere in the distance, I heard a voice screaming "CHARGE!"…

**Manuel's POV:**

As soon as Uncle Ricardo said the magic word, I immediately dove, going headfirst straight into Sergio who didn't have time to react. The force of my impact was strong enough to make him let go of the macaw and stagger a few steps back. I saw Boris land a hard blow on Enrique's head, causing him to fall off of the toucan that he held down, but he immediately stood back up and he and Boris went straight to trading punches at each other. Gabriella zipped this way and that around Raymond, causing him to get angry and give chase, not seeing Vincent and crashing into the scarlet macaw and freeing the two smaller birds. Next was Stefano, who was still focusing on the female macaw and didn't see Victor hanging behind him until he said his signature "Good evening" and latched his wings around Stefano's eyes, making him thrash out in anger and surprise. I looked to Sergio, who had finally regained his stance and was looking at me coldly, "So" he hissed, "the young Manuel crosses paths with me yet again, hehe… pretty little scar you got there" his sarcasm really got to me then as I snapped back, "Thanks! Maybe you'd like one to match!". I then took my fighting stance, preparing for the battle I've played so many times in my head, sadly, it never came. Just before I was about to strike, uncle Ricardo swooped down, using the advantage of surprise, and began clawing at Sergio. When he finished his diversion, he looked to me and yelled, "GET THESE BIRDS OUT OF HERE AND SOMEWHERE SAFE!" I was about to argue, but the female macaw next to me beat me to it, "WE'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!" she said defiantly, somewhat surprising me. As she said that, I could see the other freed birds starting to take a fighting stance and advance on their attackers, apparently so did the Iron Talons because they slowly started to back away, even Sergio started to look worried as he saw he was clearly outnumbered. He then played off his worry by saying, "Well it seems that now isnt the time yet for our little fight to the finish, but don't worry, we shall have it… very soon" and at that, he motioned to his men to leave, leaving me to watch in anger as my chance of redemption left with him. "Why didn't you let me take him? I asked my uncle angrily, he looked at me with a stern expression, as he replied, "It isn't up to you to face him, you know he is too strong for any one of us alone so don't try to say you had a chance! I promised your parents I would take care of you and strike me down before I let you get hurt again!". His reply struck me deep, he never brought up my parents before, no matter how mad he was, all I could do was look away from him angrily, lost for words. He walked away from me and looked toward the group of birds we had saved, "We have to say, that was a pretty gutsy move back there backing us up like that, I like that". "Oh… well… it was nothing really" said the male macaw, "We just don't like it when other birds try to trash our little paradise", my uncle chuckled at this and said back "Well don't we all? Haha!". Then the female said after my uncle finished laughing, "Um, not meaning to sound rude, but who are you? And what brings you here?" "That's a very good question young lady, and one in need of an answer… I am Ricardo Sorianto and this is my team, together we make the Freedom Flyers"…

**So what do you guys think? Did the chapter have enough action in it because I wasn't too sure. Let me know what you think about this in your reviews!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Ch. 5: the new guys**

**JEWEL'S POV:**

"Uhhh, the freedom what-now?" I asked, clearly confused by these strangers. "Freedom Flyers" replied the macaw named Ricardo, "We are a small band of bird liberators that rescue captured birds from smugglers or other threats". I slowly nodded, still not fully understanding this guy, before I could speak again, Blu blurted out, "Well where have you guys been this entire time! We've been dealing with poachers and smugglers as long as we've lived here!" Ricardo chuckled and replied, "Well we're sorry we couldn't have gotten here earlier, we've been following the Iron Talons mostly since they are the biggest and most dangerous group by far, and now they've chosen this piece of the world". This was all too confusing for me to process, bird liberators? Bird smugglers that are birds themselves? I slowly shook my head and looked to the leader, "Well can we at least know who you guys are?", Ricardo took a serious stance and immediately barked out an order to his team, "Freedom Flyers! Roll-call!" the others immediately went into a straight line, one next to the other and introductions were made… "I am Gabriella Borella, the team's fastest flyer, recon specialist, and medical assistant" said the hummingbird, who had a gleam of joy in her eyes. Next was a large albatross, who towered over all the other birds, "I am Boris Bon Vladimir, close combat specialist and the teams muscle" Blu looked at him saying, "Th-that's a lot of bird", and at that the albatross walked up to him, his expression serious, "And ees there a problem with my size… leetle bird?". Blu's face went pale in fear as Boris stood over him, "N-no! No p-problem what problem? I-I don't have a problem" stammered Blu, but before he looked like he was about to pass out, Boris let out a bellowing laugh, slapping Blu in the back that caused him to lurch forward, "HAHA I am just, as you say, tugging your foot leelte bird HAHA!" Blu hesitantly chuckled with him, glad he wasn't smashed by the large bird, then the roll call continued. "You may call me Victor Truvenski" said the bat with the spectacles, "I am the night ops specialist and stealth expert". My eyes finally fell on the last member of the group, expecting to hear a professional sounding name and description, but to my surprise, he merely looked down to his feet, not making eye contact as he muttered, "I'm Manuel". There was something different about the last bird, Manuel did he say? He was definitely the youngest of this group, probably around mine and Blu's age, but he seemed a little distant from everyone else. I didn't think much of it though, and soon I was introducing myself as were the rest of my friends. We had all become acquainted, and I suddenly remembered something very important, "Guys!" I yelled, "we forgot about the finch's friends!" Blu gasped as I said this and face palmed, "Darnit I knew we were forgetting something! But how are we gonna find those guys? They flew off ages ago!". Ricardo simply chuckled, as he said, "Don't worry fellas, they're fine, if I know the Iron Talons, they wouldn't use the finch's friends for anything else as bait, so they can get the real big and exotic birds like yourselves". His explanation made sense, but that still didn't answer the question of where were they? As if to answer my question, the one name Victor took off and out of sight, I looked to Ricardo, who seemed perfectly calm, and simply waited in an awkward silence as we waited for the bat to return. I found myself catching frequent glances at Manuel, he was fidgeting as if he wasn't comfortable in a crowd, he would keep glancing at us and darting his eyes away just as quickly. He turned his head away and I saw something that I didn't notice on him before, a huge scar across his beak, and I silently gasped, my curiosity of how he had gotten it was burning greatly. After what seemed like ages, Victor returned, whispered something into Ricardo's ear, Ricardo chuckled and looked to us, motioning us to follow, and took off into the brush. We followed and came to a small clearing, seeing a cage filled with a small parakeet and a finch that kind of looked like the one that came to us for help. Blu let out a sigh of relief and went to the cage, and using his knowledge of cages, opened the cage easily. The birds chirped a quick but grateful thanks you and left, "We should be heading back too" I said, "come one" I motioned to our new friends, "We'll show you around, you'll need somewhere to stay too". The group happily agreed, save for Manuel who just simply nodded. I don't know what the matter is with him, I guess we'll find out sooner or later….

**I didn't really think this chapter was very good, but review and let me know what you think and tell me what I can do to do better!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Ch. 6: New neighbors**

We took our newly made friends back to our part of the forest, showing them all the necessities such as, where the best fruit trees were, where the creek was for bathing, and of course all of the vacant hollows. These 'Freedom Flyers' seemed pretty wiped out after their long flight, and fight right afterward, and seemed eager to find a place to rest their tired bodies. Gabriella chose a hollow in a small pear tree, immediately going to work on clearing out the space and fixing it up to her liking. Boris, who was too large for any of the hollows (though I didn't say that out loud, in fear of actually angering the albatross) had built a gargantuan nest under a large bunch of palm trees for protection from the rain. Victor decided to reside in a nearby cave that we saw while giving them the tour, his choice of real estate somewhat creeping me out. Ricardo chose a hollow near the top of a tall tree, probably the tallest in the forest, saying he 'likes a hollow with a view'. My thoughts then returned to Manuel, he was the only one that didn't seem as enthusiastic as the rest of the team, he had even secluded himself to the most desolate hollow he could find, far from any of the other birds. His choice of housing was somewhat strange to me, aren't birds naturally social animals? What must have happened to him that he avoids others? Did it have to do with that scar of his? I had to admit, the scar was definitely intimidating, but maybe he wasn't as bad as he seems. My curiosity got the better of me and I set off to see Ricardo, who was watching the sunset. He heard me flying up and hopped out to a perch outside of the hollow, smiling to me as I approached, "Hello Blu" he smiled, "again, I cant thank you enough for finding us a place to stay, is there anything I can help you with?". This bird definitely had some manners, "Oh it's no problem at all, I mean, you all did save our tail feathers back there. I was just curious about one of your team members". Before I could finish, Ricardo took on a worried look and said, "Oh if it's Victor being a vampire bat you're worrying about, it's ok he only prefers cow, pig, and horse blood, not birds". He obviously didn't get which member I was talking about. "Oh" I replied, "I wasn't worried about Victor, um I don't mean to sound nosy or anything but, why does Manuel not find a hollow closer around everyone else?", Ricardo's expression turned solemn, his age showing for the first time as he replied, "Oh… it's a… long story with him", "Well" I replied, "I always have time for a story" I then settled onto my perch, Ricardo sighed as he gave in and spoke. "You seem like a good guy, so I'll tell you. Manuel had a… Troubled childhood… he was orphaned at a really young age… his parents were murdered by the same harpy eagle that you saw today. Manuel had just learned to fly, he was hardly old enough to help, but when Sergio attacked he still tried to save his parents. That was when Sergio slashed him in the face, leaving behind that scar you see on him, and forced Manuel to watch his parents' death. He had sworn that day that he would have his revenge, that's why I worry about him so much because I'm afraid that one day he might try to take his chance of revenge and wind up like his parents. As the years went on, he started to push new people away, he never made friends, never hung out with others his age, but it doesn't help that everyone he met would either shy away or make fun of him because of his scar". I thought about this for a while, this was definitely heartbreaking, what a messed up life Manuel must've had, to see his parents killed. As I was lost in my thoughts, Ricardo spoke again, "I think this may be a little random, but a lot of times when he is upset, he would sing to himself, he always liked music and his mother had a wonderful singing voice, and seemed to pass that on to him. I would see him every now and then when he thought he was alone, and he would be singing some song his mother taught him, it seems to be his way of coping with his loss, but what he truly needs is a friend." I had to agree with that, to live your life without someone your age to call a friend can be maddening. I'm not sure why, but I suddenly got an urge to help him, everyone needs a friend right? So Manuel is no exception, heck, we're in Rio for crying out loud! Friendship and love is top priority here! I thanked Ricardo for sharing this story and took off to find Manuel, if this was going to work, then I would have to show him that he didn't have to seclude himself for his looks, that he could find friendship anywhere. I was nearing his hollow, but I didn't see him in it. Confused, I sat and looked around, it was quiet here, and no sound came from anywhere. I sighed, not knowing how long he would be gone, but then I had heard a faint voice coming out of the quiet. It was soft, but I quickly followed it to a stream, as I looked, I saw Manuel sitting and looking into the water at his reflection a quiet song leaving his beak:

_You were standing in the wake of devastation  
>And you were waiting on the edge of the unknown<br>And with the cataclysm raining down  
>Insides crying "Save me now"<br>You were there, impossibly alone_

_Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?  
>You build up hope, but failure's all you've known<br>Remember all the sadness and frustration  
>And let it go. Let it go<em>

_And in a burst of light that blinded every angel  
>As if the sky had blown the heavens into stars<br>You felt the gravity of tempered grace  
>Falling into empty space<br>No one there to catch you in their arms_

_Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?  
>You build up hope, but failure's all you've known<br>Remember all the sadness and frustration  
>And let it go. Let it go<em>

_Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?  
>You build up hope, but failure's all you've known<br>Remember all the sadness and frustration  
>And let it go. Let it go<em>

_Let it go  
>Let it go<br>Let it go  
>Let it go<em>

_Do you feel cold and lost in desperation?  
>You build up hope, but failure's all you've known<br>Remember all the sadness and frustration  
>And let it go. Let it go<em>

Manuel breathed a deep sigh, ending his song. I felt moved by the song, the feeling of loss and pain very noticeable. He looked back at his reflection, eyeing the scar on his beak, his wing tracing the outline. I was about to step forward to make my presence known, but Manuel beat me to it, "I know you're back there, come out, I don't like being spied on". I followed his command, walking out of the brush toward him. He only took a fleeting glance at me and looked away. I tried to start conversation, hoping it would end this awkward silence, "You've got a nice singing voice". He merely looked over, uninterested in my compliment, but still muttered "Thanks". I didn't really know what to say after that, so the next minute or so was extremely awkward, then he turned out of nowhere and asked, "Are you… a hyacinth? I mean, you got the feathers", startled by his sudden curiosity, I answered, "What? Oh no no… I'm a Spix's macaw, the difference between us is the yellow mark around your eyes". Manuel simply look away again, slowly nodding, he looked back at his reflection, and took his foot and ran it across the water, making his image disappear and he sighed. I looked at him, feeling sorry for the macaw and wishing there was a way to cheer him up, I finally gathered up the courage to say something, hoping they were the right words to say, "It's not that bad you know". He didn't look at me, but his face took on a look of confusion, I had his attention. "What is?" he asked, I smiled slightly as I replied, "your scar, it isn't that bad". This time he looked at me, his face showing that he didn't know how to react to my comment. His expression then changed to sorrow as he slowly turned his back to me, "You wouldn't say that if you knew about its origin", "Well" I said "Ricardo kind of told me already…" his head snapped back to me, now in anger, "So what then? You feel sorry for me? You wanna try and cheer me up? You think that I don't make friends just because I'm self-conscious about how I look? Well let me tell you something, I don't just avoid people because I'm nervous, I push others away because it is always the same thing, they take one look at me and all of a sudden I'm labeled as some hardened juvenile that can't possibly know how to be friendly! I was made fun of because of my scar! I avoid others because I'm tired of being judged by people that know nothing about me!" he finally finished, slumped down and looked out toward the stream. A small tear escaped his eye as he said quietly, "If others would just have the decency to get to know me, they would find someone completely different to what they see in front of them. I didn't understand the pain he had felt, and I wasn't even going to try, but I knew I still had to try and help him. I walked next to him and sat, looking to him and said, "Well I'm not judging you, let me get to know you Manuel, because I'm sure you're not what is portrayed by just sight alone". He looked at me and I smiled, and miraculously, he smiled back, his smile seemed to radiate both a long forgotten happiness, and a deep and sudden relief. He stood back up, still smiling, and said, "Thanks Blu, I can tell you're sincere, and that means a lot to me" I put a wing on his shoulder and gripped it tightly and said "Hey no problem, everyone deserves to be known". He looked up to the setting sun and yawned, "It's getting pretty late, I'd better catch some sleep" and he took off to his hollow, but he didn't disappear before turning and saying to me, "Thanks again Blu! And I'll see ya tomorrow!". I smiled and waved back, turning and taking off to my hollow where Jewel was waiting, she would want to hear this. I thought back to what Ricardo said about Manuel being an admirer of music and suddenly an idea popped in my head, "Music huh?" I said aloud, "that gives me a great idea" and I hurried home to tell Jewel…

**Yay! Manuel may have finally made a new, and long overdue, friend! The next chapter will be in Manuel's POV as the 'surprise' is unveiled, will it work? Maybe a little better than anticipated? Hint hint… this next chapter will also introduce my new OC, Serra**


	7. Chapter 7

**Ch. 7: then there was her**

I woke up the next morning to the sun shining in my new hollow. I stood and stretched, fluffing up my feathers in the process. I hopped out to a small perch, looking out to the lush jungle, and smiled. Yes, can you believe it I actually smiled? But I had a reason to smile, for once in my life, I met others who didn't automatically label me for what I looked like. It seems these birds actually want to get to know me… the real me. My stomach began to growl and I quickly preened and headed out to find something to eat, I was strangely craving something sweet, and the star fruit tree I saw yesterday fit the bill perfectly. I headed to the tree and grabbed two of the plumpest ones I could find and headed to a branch to eat. A had just dug into my first star fruit when I heard a small tune being played, I looked around and saw that canary, Nico, was it? And I also saw his cardinal friend, uh, Pedro it think. Nico was tapping his bottle cap hat like a tambourine, while singing some Portuguese song, while Pedro beat boxed to the song. I was never really interested in learning Portuguese since I never really had to use it, but that didn't stop me from enjoying the song, and I soon found myself tapping my foot and nodding my head to the beat. "_Hmm, meal and entertainment, great mix_" I thought with a smile. Pedro looked over to me, seeing me enjoying the music, and motioned me over to where they were. I finished my first star fruit, grabbed the other one and headed to where they were. Nico stopped playing and looked at me smiling saying, "Yo Manuel, what up bird?" I simply shrugged, not used to such a cheery greeting by a different bird, and said, "Eh not much". Pedro came up next to me and said, "So, I see you're an appreciator of good samba?" again I shrugged and replied, "Well I listen to a lot of music, so there isn't much about it that I don't like". Nico sarcastically nodded, as if I had just preached a sermon and exclaimed, "Amen to that! Hey it's a good thing we found you here because we decided to throw a celebration to thank you guys for what you've done, were having it at Passaro Paraiso, the best samba club in all of Rio! Tell your team to meet us there this evening". "Uhh… ok" I said, suddenly nervous at the thought of being surrounded by tons of birds that I didn't know. The other two didn't recognize my nervousness, and said a joyful fair well, leaving me to finish up my star fruit alone. I headed straight to uncle Ricardo's hollow, seeing that he had just returned from a patrol, it sparked my curiosity as to why he hasn't sent me on a patrol yet, but I shook the thought away. "Mornin' kiddo" said my uncle brightly, "How you liking the new placement? Not bad this Rio place is huh?" I simply shrugged, hiding the true fact that I really did like it here, "It's alright, hey that canary and cardinal said that there is a party at some club to thank us, what do you think?". His eyes brightened and he smiled wide, "That's a great idea! Get to see the locals, check out the scene, you might even find yourself a little 'female friend' to 'socialize' with?" he elbowed my chest and I shrugged him off, humor in my voice as I said, "You're crazy, you know that?", "Maybe just a little" replied my uncle. I chuckled and flew off to spread the news, Gabriella was just as enthusiastic as my uncle, Boris took this as an invitation to try the true Brazilian cuisine (I mean, what's a party without food right?), and Victor found this as an opportunity to truly be 'nocturnal'. I went back to my hollow and sat for all little bit, enjoying the quiet. I was still unsure if I was really going to go. Most likely my uncle would end up forcing me to go, saying that I really needed to try and socialize with birds my age. I sighed, not seeing any way of getting out of this one, and decided to at least make myself decent for the party. I preened for about twenty minutes, making sure I didn't have any feathers out of place, and then sighed when I was satisfied with the results. "_Now if there was something to cover this up" _I thought, running a single feather across my scar. I heard the beating of wings and turned to see Blu accompanied by Jewel, both cleaned and practically glowing for tonight's event. "Hey guys" I said smiling, "I see you're both ready for the party", "Yep" replied Blu, "hope you're ready for a long night because Nico and Pedro are making this one of the biggest parties of the year! Almost every bird in Rio is gonna be there". If color could drain from feathers, I would have looked like a ghost, every bird in Rio! When will they learn that I hate crowds! Jewel seemed to have noticed my sudden nervousness and placed a comforting wing on my shoulder, "Hey, don't freak out, everyone there is just there to have fun, you just gotta let loose and you will fit right in!", "Yeah" agreed Blu, then said jokingly, "You think I was always this fun-tastic? It wasn't until my first trip to the club that I really started to loosen up, once that music starts, you'll never want to leave trust me". I took some comfort in their words and straightened up, they were right, maybe I did need to loosen up. I spent the rest of the day flying with Blu and Jewel, until we saw the sun beginning to set, signaling that it was time to head to the club. As we approached the fruit stands that was next to the entrance, we saw the rest of my team and Raphael and a female toucan next to him, his mate most likely. "Well it's about time you guys made it" said Raphael happily, "Manuel, this is my mate Eva, Eva, this is Manuel", Eva looked over to me, smiling warmly, "Well it is good to meet you Manuel, I can't thank you and your team enough for saving my Raphy, I wouldn't know what I would do if I lost him". I chuckled nervously, surprised by the sudden gratitude by her. "Oh… it's nothing- just what we do best". "Well are we going in or what!" asked an excited Blu, and at that we all bustled into the club. It was exactly what I expected to be… crowded, crowded, crowded… not to mention loud! The bass seemed to vibrate the entire club with a mix of rhythmic percussion and other instruments that I couldn't identify. I had to admit, this place was awesome! Birds were dancing and having a great time everywhere I looked, how so many birds could fit here, I had no idea. "Now thees ees a party!" exclaimed Boris happily, already tapping his large foot to the beat. I looked to the stage and saw Nico and Pedro singing their hearts out to the crowd, who cheered and begged for more. I had to admit, those guys had some serious talent, and I found my own foot tapping and my head nodding to the music as well. "Well my angel" I heard Blu say to Jewel, taking her wing, "shall we dance?" "We shall" she smiled, letting him lead her to the dance floor. Slowly but surely, the music drew each of my teammates to dance, I burst out in laughter as I watched Boris, who danced in some Russian style that was completely irrelevant to the Brazilian style of music, with the surrounding birds encouraging him! I found an empty table and sat. the music faded, making all of the birds look to the stage, Pedro was getting everyone's attention, "Ight e'erbody, as you may've heard, there is some kind of group of bird nappers in Rio, these guys nearly snatched up me, Nico, and the rest of our buds, but it was thanks to a group of brave birds that we sing here tonight, so put your wings together and let's hear it for Ricardo, Gabriella, Boris, Victor, and Manuel!". Multiple spotlights shone on each of us, the team standing proudly and waving to the cheering birds, I smiled nervously, tons of eyes suddenly on me, and birds I didn't know cheering and clapping for me. Thankfully, Nico got their attention saying, "Alright yall, now let's party!" and the music blasted again. I saw Blu and Jewel heading toward the table I was sitting at, obviously out of breath and looking at me. "Why aren't you dancing?" asked Blu, "I don't dance really" was all I could say, Blu shook his head, "Come on dude, you gotta loosen up and just have some fun! Nobody's judging you here, so go dance". I was still reluctant to go, then Jewel spoke up, "Well if you want some incentive, there is a friend of mine here on the dance floor, but she doesn't really like dancing alone, she pointed to a bird on the dance floor, and what I saw made my jaw drop. She was the most beautiful bird I have ever seen, her scarlet red feathers, complimented with green and blue tints on her wings and tail, dancing ever so gracefully, the lights seeming to give of an aura around her. All I could do was stand and stare, at least until I felt a shove from Blu and Jewel, making me move forward to the scarlet macaw. She must've seen my stumble because she flashed a vibrant ruby eye toward me… and smiled at me! I returned the smile, but with a ton of nervousness very noticeable. She giggled and waved at me, "_Oh god, now what? I've never done this before!" _I thought frantically. Apparently my body worked with its own mind, as I waved back and felt myself walking closer to her. Her eyes seemed to shine as they looked upon me, and all the while she was still swaying to the music, successful in only entrancing me even more. "So you gonna just stand and stare or are you gonna dance with me?" she asked playfully, her voice seemed almost as angelic as her figure. I was close to panicking, as I haven't really flirted before, so just made a mental decision of the second option and danced with her. Her smile widened as I started to move with her, I was a little shaky at first, but then started to sway and dance almost in sync with her. She did her heart-melting giggle again as we got closer, our dance becoming more complex as we moved with each other, our bodies weaving around the other as I took her wing in mine and spun her. She seemed to have her own plans as she spun, still holding my wing, and moving so that her back was to my chest and my wing was wrapped around her waist, causing me to blush severely. "Yo Manuel!" I heard Blu yell to me teasingly, "I thought you couldn't dance?", I looked to him and smiled, "I said I didn't dance, never said I couldn't". I heard her laugh again and suddenly facepalmed mentally as I forgot one important detail, "I never seemed to have caught your name" I said sheepishly. She smiled at me and replied, "It's Serra". "_Serra… nice name" _I thought, we continued to dance throughout the night, our bodies weaving among eachother, and occasionally making eye contact, oh how I loved those eyes. The music finally faded, and we walked to the club's exit where other birds were already leaving, "It was fun tonight Manuel" said Serra, I chuckled nervously and replied, "Y-yeah… I had tons of fun… with you- of course hehe" she simply smiled at me, quietly giggling, "Will I see you again?" I asked, she nodded and said, "My hollow is right at the bend of the stream, come and visit if you like", I happily nodded, "S-sure, I'll do that". We said our goodbyes and she turned to leave, but she hesitated, and quickly turned back to me and gave me a swift kiss on the cheek and took off, all I could do was stand there bewildered, placing my wing on the spot where her beak made contact. I heard someone cough behind me, I turned and saw Boris with the rest of the team, looking at me with a smug 'I told you so' face. I shrugged sarcastically, "Okay I admit it… you were right Boris". He simply let out a deep chuckle and walked past me. I sighed and took off, feeling much more happy than I ever thought I could ever feel…

**YAY Manuel finally got a girl! Please review! Sorry I took so long on this chapter, my laptop was being retarded and I couldn't upload for a while, I will try to be a little quicker next time!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Ch. 8: not again**

**Manuel's POV**

It was our second week of staying here in Rio, and things couldn't get better. I had a group of the greatest friends a bird could ask for, I was going out with the most beautiful bird ever, and for once in my life, I felt like I belonged. The morning sun had just reached over the horizon and I was already up, I know what I said about not liking early rising, but I had patrol today, and I was expecting company. I didn't hear the soft beating of wings behind me and I was a little startled when a pair of wings swooped around my eyes, making everything go dark. I relaxed when I heard the familiar laugh behind me as the female bird said, "Hehe guess who." I exaggerated a long, "Hmmmmm" as if I was trying to figure out who it was, "I don't know, can I have a hint?" I asked playfully. To answer, I felt her pull me closer and plant a kiss on my cheek, causing my face to warm up in a blush, "Oh… well hey there Serra" I laughed, she released me and I turned around to hug her tightly. "So, you ready to fly?" I asked, she smiled at me and took off, leaving me to catch up to her. We took the usual route that the team and I planned out for patrol, starting at the beach, circling the outskirts of the city, then heading to the Christ the Redeemer statue, then heading back to the Blu Bird Sanctuary. The flight was quiet, but an enjoyable quiet, I was glad just to be in her presence and I was sure she felt the same way. I was slightly surprised by the focus she showed on the patrol. She obviously knew that even though we were together, it was still a time to stay serious in case someone needed help. "_A girl after my own heart" _I thought smiling, "_I bet she would make a great addition to the team… I wonder if I should ask her, would she say yes?". _I continued thinking to myself about the possibility as we circled back to the sanctuary. We landed on a low hanging branch and immediately the feathers on the back of my neck rose, I had the sudden feeling I was being watched. My eyes shot side to side, trying to pinpoint where the source of my worry was coming from, and Serra noticed my expression and immediately began glancing around as well. Every time I thought there was nothing to worry about, a sudden movement caught in my peripheral vision, somewhat annoying me since this invisible threat wouldn't show itself, "If you're gonna jump us just do it now, I don't have time for games" I said in a threateningly low tone. When nothing happened Serra nudged me, "Let's get out of here Manuel". I sighed and agreed with her, and we took off without a second glance, had I have taken that glance, I would probably have seen the outline of a certain blue throated macaw stepping out of the shadows, staring at me and Serra as we left.

**Blu's POV:**

"Where are those two?" I asked worriedly, it wasn't like Manuel and Serra to be late, especially to get together at the club. "You worry too much Blu" Jewel said, pressing herself next to me as a slightly chilly breeze blew through. "Yeah man" said Pedro, "They're probably just havin a little 'alone time' together" he chuckled at that and Jewel rolled her eyes, noticeably annoyed by Pedro's crude sense of humor. I looked back up to the sky and saw the outline of two macaws heading our way, "There they are!" I said, I walked up to greet them when they landed, and immediately noticed a look of worry on Manuel. "Hey guys" I said, "Manuel… you alright? You look a little tense". He looked at me and shrugged, "I'm fine, it's nothing". I didn't push him further and we all headed into the club. The music was bumping loud as ever, Pedro and Nico headed to the stage as me Jewel, Manuel, and Serra headed to a table and sat. we had spent the next hour or so talking amongst ourselves and enjoying a lunch of mangoes, pears, and berries. While Serra and Jewel were busying themselves with 'girl talk', I struck up a conversation with Manuel, "So how's things goin with you and Serra?" I asked, he finished a quick drink and smiled, "It's great, I would have never thought I would've ever met anyone like her". I nodded thoughtfully and continued asking "So, you gonna tell her how you feel?" Manuel's smile got even wider as he nodded, "I'm gonna tell her as we are dancing to a song I picked out". I smiled, happy for him, Manuel was a swell bird and deserved a girl like Serra, I just hoped nothing would go wrong in the meantime. My heart sank as I saw luck was not on our side, a small group, consisting of a military macaw, two Buffon macaws, and a Severe macaw who seemed to be leading the group were ambling their way to our table, a malicious look locked on Manuel. Manuel seemed to have noticed, as he started to glare at the group of staggering birds, they obviously had too much to drink. The girls took notice of where Manuel was looking and Jewel slid closer to me with a death glare locked on the group and Serra did the same next to Manuel. The Severe macaw was the first to speak, "Zzzo… you're the macaw e'eronez talkin' about, Manual or somethin?". Manuel simply glared at the drunk bird, obviously this wasn't his first encounter, but I was still praying that these jerks would just leave. "Yeah" replied Manuel flatly, "I'm _Manuel_ who wants to know?" "Well aint you the snappy one" slurred the macaw, "I wanna know… that's who" at this statement, he slammed his wings on the table and leaned closely right in Manuel's face, and Manuel didn't so much as blink, instead he kept his calm expression and continued to glare. "You think yur so tough, don't ya birdie? Well ya know what? I don't think yur as tough as you think, in fact, I heard you wont even fight another bird, you just cheer from the sideline… is that what you are blue bird? A little cheerleader?". This guy was seriously gonna regret this, nothing he said was true, all he wanted was to fight him because the alcohol was making him cocky. Serra piped up, a dangerous sounding tone in her voice, "Hey bub, you got no business here so why don't you just go back to whatever hole you came out of before I throw you there…" the macaw looked at Serra, his eyes widened in lust, his perverted mind obviously at work. "Well baby, now why you hangin' with this loozer? Let's head back to my place and… get to know each other a little better" he winked at Serra, I glanced at Manuel, his body tensed up and he looked like he wanted to beat the living tar out of this guy, I had no idea where his self-control was coming from, it amazed me. Serra never broke eye contact as she grabbed her drink, emptying its contents all over the macaw's face, making him back up and sputter, "Dumb bitch!" he stated. This comment made Manuel stand up, but Serra held his wing to make sure he didn't move. "Whats the matter birdie? Got yur girlfriend here ta fight yur own fights?". Manuel chuckled and said "I know, aint she great?". The Severe became annoyed and stood as tall as he could, "Ight smart ass, quit stallin, I'm gonna enjoy poundin you to the ground". This time Serra stood up next to Manuel, so he wouldn't accept the challenge, but he simply stood, satring at the pathetic bird. He then turned away, Serra in tow, and Jewel and I following, he turned back and said to the angry macaw, "I've got nothing to prove to you". The Severe obviously wasn't pleased by this, so he followed, with his snickering posse close behind, "Ha I was right guys, he's gutless, won't accept a fight. He's a joke, probably headin back to mommy right now. Uh-oh, I gulped as the Severe said the 'M' word, stopping Manuel in his tracks, flares of anger rising in his eyes. The macaw continued, seeing that he had struck a nerve, "Aww are you angwy baby bird? You runnin to your mommy? Or maybe your momma left ya, hated the fact she had you as a son so she dropped ya from the tree, that where your scar came from?" the rest of the posse laughed and snickered, not noticing Manuel clenching his wings into fists. In one fluent motion, Manuel turned, brought his fist back, and landed a perfectly aimed punch right at the macaw's beak. A sickening 'CRACK' was heard and we saw the impact split the macaw's beak down the middle, with him sprawling on the floor crying in pain. Manuel definitely wanted to do more to him, but instead his face turned stone cold and emotionless, he turned and walked off, leaving the three of us, "Manuel…?" said Serra, when he didn't stop or even reply as he took off, a steady stream of tears started to flow from her eyes. We watched as Manuel flew out of sight, "Stupid jerk" muttered Jewel, "Had to be some jack ass to come and ruin our afternoon, and to insult Manuel like that, now I wanna take a good slug at him". I placed a wing on her shoulder and she loosened up her tense body. I was just about to speak when I heard someone yelling my name, it was Pedro, accompanied by Victor, both with a serious and desperate look in their eyes (Well I guess since Victor was wearing sunglasses). "Guys guys" gasped an exasperated Pedro, "We need some help! The poachers, their havin some kinda raid in the jungle, snatchin up anything with feathers and the Iron Talons snatching any bird that gets away!". My blood ran cold, we had to do something! And fast! "Vere is Manuel?" Asked the Transylvanian, Serra gasped, "He's heading back to the jungle! He has no idea what's happening! We've gotta find him!" she started to turn to take off but I stopped her, "Its too dangerous, you and Jewel go find Linda and Tulio, try to warn them somehow of what's going on, I'm going to go find Manuel", Jewel surprisingly didn't argue, instead she pulled me to her and kissed me deeply, when we separated she whispered, "Be careful" and took off with Serra reluctantly in tow. I took off toward where Manuel was heading with Victor and Pedro, all that was going through my mind was how we were gonna stop these poachers and the Iron Talons in time…

….I prayed we weren't already too late….

**So we finally begin to reach the climax of the story, the next chapter will continue in Blu and Jewels POV as they try to stop the menace of the Iron Talons… please review!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Ch. 9: HELP!**

Victor, Pedro, and I flew as fast as we could toward where Manuel flew, but we were cut short as Pedro let out a scared shriek and a blur of feathers zoomed past us, taking the cardinal with it. "Pedro!" I yelled, immediately altering my course to follow the bird-napper who was disappearing into the treetops. "Blu! Don't, it's a trap!" yelled Victor, but I didn't listen, my goal set to rescuing my friend. I dove into a clearing and landed on the bare ground, first thing I notice was that it was quiet, eerily quiet. I looked around, tensed and alert for anything to attack, after a few moments, the falcon known as Raymond walked out to the clearing, with Pedro shaking fearfully in his talons. "Well well well" said Raymond, "If it isn't the little blue bird come to save his buddy, how nice". I felt anger rise in me as the falcon squeezed Pedro, making him groan in pain, "Let him go" I commanded, trying to sound threatening. Raymond simply laughed at me and before I knew it, an unseen assailant crashed into me and Victor from behind, knocking us to the ground. "Hehe, never saw it comin'" said a voice, I looked behind me and saw the blue throated macaw Stefano. "What's the matter Victor" sneered Stefano, "You losin your edge batty?" Victor snarled at him, his long fangs gleaming, and launched himself at the macaw, both beginning to fight viciously. I heard a loud screech and turned to see that Raymond had thrown Pedro into a tree, knocking the poor cardinal out cold, and charged at me. I moved just in time to see a blur of feathers go past me, but he spun around and slashed at me with incredible speed. All I could do was fall back in pain as his talons raked across my chest, blood coming freely from the wound they left. I staggered back, yelling out in pain as he started to charge again, but I was ready for him. Instead of stepping aside, I jumped upward using my wings for lift, and gripped his head with my claws. He squawked in surprise as I pumped my wing hard to lift him up from the ground, then with all my strength I could muster, spun and threw him into the nearby Stefano. He crashed into the macaw, knocking the air out of both of them, "Come on! We've got to go!" I yelled to Victor, I was already beginning to feel woozy from loss of blood and I didn't want to stick around for round two when these guys regained composure. He nodded and began to follow, but as he gained altitude, a huge black figure crashed out of the trees, head-butting Victor and sending him crashing to the ground. "Victor!" I yelled, seeing as the huge condor Enrique was tossing the small bat about like a rag doll. I knew I wouldn't stand a chance against the gargantuan bird, but I couldn't let Victor get killed either, I was torn between not knowing if I could get Victor away from Enrique, or be able to get help in time. Fortunately, fate was kind to me, I heard the deep, bellowing battle cry and looked up to see Boris charging headlong straight into Enrique, "LEEVE MY FRIENDS ALONE!" he yelled as he spun and planted both feet squarely on the condor's chest, propelling him into a large tree. "BLU, GET VEECTORE OUT OF HERE AND FIND MANUEL!" he yelled up to me as he began to go head to head with the furious condor. I nodded and dove for the bat, failing to notice that Stefano and Raymond had gotten back up, both furious. All I felt was a hard stinging pain in my side, knocking the breath out of me and sending me to the ground with a thud. I looked over and saw Stefano dragging the injured Victor to where I was, "Yo Russian! You missing somethin'?" laughed Raymond. Boris looked over, anger flared in his eyes and he ran straight for us, something didn't feel right, were they baiting us? "Boris! Wait I think it's a…" but I was too late, Boris lunged at the macaw and falcon who jumped out of the way, and I heard a loud rustling up above. Before we knew it, a large metal trapping net fell on all three of us, its weight pushing me down and constricting my lungs. "You guys are too easy" jeered Stefano who was chuckling evilly, walking to where I was wheezing. "Don't worry about your little girlfriend, I'll take good care of her, hehehe", this infuriated me, but I couldn't do anything about it. "Come on" said Enrique, "Lets help gather the others then we'll come back for them" and at that, the three birds took off. I struggled to try and move, but the heavy weight of the metal net was too much, plus I was already short of breath as it was. I was beginning to feel dread that I wouldn't make it out of this. "_Jewel… I'm so sorry… I failed" _I thought, closing my eyes in defeat. I opened my eyes as I heard a low grunting right next to me, then I felt the weight of the net lift off of me, I looked next to me and saw Boris, his face straining as he lifted the metal net! He got it just high enough that I could see a small space that I could just barely squeeze through, "Go Blu hurry!" Grunted Boris, "I cant hold this much longer". I heeded his command and squirmed out of the net, it turned to face the other two, "W…wait, what about you guys?" as if to answer my question, Boris' legs buckled under him, bringing the heavy net down on him and Victor once again, "There's no time Blu" said the tired albatross, "You must find… Manuel, he can help… he may be the only one who can now…". I didn't want to leave my friends, but still I nodded and turned, gripping the still unconscious Pedro and took off toward Manuel's, hoping I could get there in time before I passed out from my wound…

**JEWEL'S POV:**

Serra and I flew faster than we ever had before, trying to make it to the aviary where Tulio was. I looked at Serra, her face showing much worry, "He's gonna be fine Serra" I assured my friend, "this is Manuel we're talking about", she sighed deeply, "You're right Jewel" she said, "But I still cant help but to worry". She had a point there, although I knew Blu was the smarted bird she met, and could probably think his way out of anything, she still worried greatly for him. The rest of the flight was fast, but quiet save for the wind rushing past us. The aviary finally came into view and my hopes rose as I saw Tulio through an open window. We swooped in and landed on the desk in front of him, momentarily startling the ornithologist. "WHOAH- huh! Oh Jewel… you scared me!" I gave him an apologetic look as Serra immediately began trying to hurriedly explain their situation. Unfortunately, Tulio couldn't understand what she was saying, he looked at me questioningly, I immediately scanned the desk for a paper and pencil, remembering what Blu taught me about writing. I began to sound out the word poachers, trying my best to spell it out, Tulio looked over me, trying to make out what I was writing. "P-poachers?" he asked, then his eyes widened as I wrote the word 'help', he seemed to have finally understood what I was saying since he reached for his jacket, pulled out a small phone, punched some buttons and before leaving the office, looked to me and said, "Lead the way Jewel"…..

**Sorry I took so long on this chapter, school has seriously slowed me down. There will probably be one last chapter and perhaps an epilogue after this one. Again I encourage reviews because I like to know what you guys think! Thanks!**


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